Hello everyone. Thought that I would take a little time to share my thoughts about my k-x and a Nikkor lens I recently purchased. I have a Nikkor-H 28mm f3.5 Nippon Kogaku, non-AI.
What started me on this was a) this thread; and b) a thread over at DPreview forums about 5 years back regarding the ability to put Nikkor lenses on Pentax bodies. This whole idea is very pleasing to me, since I used to very much enjoy my Nikon Photomic T with several excellent Nikkor lenses back in the 1970s. Back then, everything was manual; moreover, I considered myself fortunate to have through-the-lens-metering. Wooo!
What I should like to share:
1. Because it is a small non-AI lens, it mounts more securely than I thought it would without any modification whatsoever. By turning it to about the 2:00 position it fits fairly snugly. Not so good that one does not have to ever worry about it, but decent enough. Just to make sure, when I adjust the aperture ring and/or the focus ring, I use another finger to gently push the lens in a clockwise direction so as to maintain the mount.
2. Of course, it must be used in a manual fashion and the green button. Honestly, I enjoy all this because it takes back this old man to the 1970s when I used my film Nikon back then. To me there is something pleasant about taking my time to plan, compose, and focus a picture.
3. In my testing, I find that this lens, even at f3.5, takes some practice to focus in low light situations. I find that it is more suited to outdoor pictures, often at f8 and infinity focus.
4. Out of the 150 or so pictures that I have taken so far, there is a tendency for my k-x to underexpose the pictures. But, they can be corrected either by a wb adjustment prior to taking the picture or in post processing.
5. When I get good focus, I find the lens to be pretty darn sharp even at f3.5. There is some pf, and some softness at the borders, but in the center, it is very nice.
6. As I mentioned in 3. above, I consider this lens as more of an outdoor f8 lens when the light is good. You can use it indoors in poor light, but for this old man, it is hard for me to get good focus a reasonable percent of the time.
7. At this point, the only comparison that I can do is with my 18-55 kit lens at 28mm. While I am still testing, I find that with iso400, good focus, the Nikkor at f5.6 on up is sharper than the kit lens. But, I will say that the kit lens is not bad. At 28-35mm, f8, the kit lens is a value hard to beat.
In conclusion, I should like to say that I am glad I got the lens ($35 at keh in bgn condition) and look forward to more picture taking with it. Perhaps I shall try to get a 50mm f1.4, my old favorite, sometime as well.
Late yesterday afternoon, I took this pic in the front of my yard facing west toward Sierra Blanca peak. It has been resized and post processed a tad.